Accurate optical data communication requires exact alignment of optical fiber(s) between transmitters and receivers. Precision interconnection systems are normally used to establish and maintain the proper alignment. Such interconnection systems typically include precision receptacles, plugs, and associated hardware.
There are significant ongoing efforts to fine-tune the degree of alignment which can be achieved in such interconnection systems. One well-known way of accomplishing this is to minimize the required manufacturing tolerances of the component parts.
Recent efforts have centered on safeguards which insure the integrity of the assembly process. For instance, it is now recognized that transmission accuracy can be increased and signal losses can be reduced by maintaining a precise alignment of the active optical device within an optical receptacle throughout the assembly process. As an example, related co-pending application Ser. No. 07/905,937, pending, discloses an alignment cover for a conventional fiber optical receptacle of the type which includes an outer shell defining a central chamber with an open end for receiving a mating plug or receptacle cover. Conventional receptacles may be simplex receptacles which house a single active device for interconnection and alignment of a single optical fiber, or they may be duplex receptacles which house dual active devices for interconnection and alignment of a duplex optical fiber. In either case, the receptacle is formed with the proper number of cavities in which a conventional active optical device (such as a photo-diode, photo-transistor or the like) may be seated to face the mating plug.
The above-described alignment cover of co-pending application Ser. No. 07/905,937, pending, protects such conventional receptacles when no plug is inserted. The alignment cover serves an additional purpose in that it aligns the active optical device(s) within the receptacle throughout the assembly and soldering process, and it does this at no significant additional manufacturing cost.
There is considerable room for further improvement. For example, the fixed cavity-size in conventional receptacles fails to adequately accommodate for tolerances in the size of the active optical devices. Moreover, it has been found that improvements in performance can be attained by shielding the active optical devices in conductive enclosures (a.k.a. "cans"), yet and the fixed cavity-size in conventional receptacles cannot accommodate this.
Hence, there is an immediate commercial need for a fiber optic receptacle which can accommodate variations in the size of the active optical devices or shielding thereof while maintaining a precise alignment of the active optical device within the receptacle throughout the assembly process.